THE STORY
The inspirational weekend that planted the small seed in our minds to create our speaker company came from a Fall trip to far West Texas over a decade ago. We made the road trip to Big Bend National Park from Austin, Texas and camped at the Chisos Basin before heading up to Marfa afterwards. It was a trip that inspired us at every moment and remains in our hearts as one of the most impactful to our lives.
We’ve both lived in Texas our entire lives but neither of us had spent any time out West. The landscape in West Texas is vast, open, sculptural, extreme, yet in some ways minimal and full of detail all at the same time. The massive open sky, the long cool blue shadows on the warm palette of the desert in the Fall was striking. I felt like I could really breathe out there. My heart was opened and full of inspiration to take what I had filled myself with and to do something with it.
It wasn’t until much later did I realize why it all struck me the way that it did. I’ve always felt a strong connection to nature. It always made me feel very grounded. But out there, that connection was expanded for me. The size of the sky in West Texas is all-encompassing. And the views from the peaks of Big Bend let you see nearly forever. Nature is all around you, above you, below you, and as far as the eye can see. I felt grounded, lifted, and open all at the same time.
After two days of camping, we drove up to Marfa to stay for a couple of nights. We visited Chinati and some of the grounds and living areas that Donald Judd had transformed into permanent art installations in the West Texas high desert. I recall what it felt like to see Judd’s work in person for the first time, the materials and scale of the pieces in relation to the spaces they lived in. The large shapes were minimal and cast their strong silhouettes onto the ground. They evoked and reflected the landscape of the high desert terrain that surrounded the grounds and spaces they lived in.
In one of the large open interior spaces, sat alone, a single speaker. Michael pointed it out to me as a point of interest and we recognized how it was one of the only things that really pointed to the time period that Judd worked in. The artwork and the spaces were otherwise timeless. But this element had a distinctively vintage vibe. Standing alone against the large wall of the room, it could have been mistaken for a piece of art on its own. And to some, it may very well have been that. We like to think that Donald Judd may have thought so too.
We didn’t make much of it at the time, but on our drive home, we were inspired. The magic of west Texas, Donald Judd’s work, and the free spirited character of Marfa was a combination I had not expected to affect me like it did. We had a long drive home and that time gave us an opportunity to sit with all of those new feelings, discoveries and inspirations. I felt charged with an energy to make changes in my life but I didn’t know to what degree and how it would impact us over the next few years. I can’t point to any one thing that was the impetus to change. But there are times in your life when you are just at the right time and place to receive those kinds of inspirations. Maybe it was the combination of the long drive there, with city and town changing to an open vastness that primed our hearts. Maybe it was the magic of the West Texas desert and mountains that opened our spirits. Or maybe it was Marfa, and Donald Judd’s art, and the people who live out there with intention and focus that made us think about what could be and do if we removed distractions from what is important. We didn’t plan for a spiritual awakening. Sometimes it just happens when your heart has been primed.
That weekend changed us forever, it changed how we lived our day to day lives, what we shaped our home, how we interacted with our spaces, and what we valued as important. From that point on, we wanted to live with more purpose in our choices, and build a world and home that reflected an appreciation and respect for the things we allowed to come into our lives. It started a thought process that touched on every aspect from how we consume food, to how we make purchases and to consider our impact on our world.
We are always looking for the inspirations that motivate us to live better, be better, and do better as individuals and now, as a company. Our speakers are the embodiment of our trip out West that year. A reflection on our time spent with our hearts and minds open to change and growth. No two are alike. They may come across as minimal, simplified, and subtle, but upon closer inspection we hope you’ll see the attention to detail, the craftsmanship, the grain of the wood being unique to each piece. This is our offering to you, and we hope that when you listen to these speakers some of that spirit and openness of the West is brought to your heart and home.
MARFA, TEXAS 2009